For three seasons we have pondered the mystery of Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) and her role in the mysterious town of Haven, Maine. The first season was just as much about introducing us to Audrey as it was to Haven’s Troubled and their unique Troubles. In fact, with each episode that first season we learned another small clue about Audrey, for it was obvious from the start that she had a special ability to reach out to the Troubled and calm their Troubles. But we really didn’t suspect that at the end of the season we would find out that she was not even Audrey Parker at all.
The biggest clue was when her partner Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) discovered that he could feel her. Due to his Trouble, he could not feel anything – yet miraculous, he could feel her; that made Audrey special and a mystery herself. But when she came face to face with the real Audrey Parker, a woman’s identity with whom she had assumed and whose memories she shared, we suddenly realized that there was a lot more going on with Audrey Parker (or rather the woman we knew as Audrey).
Subsequently, the second season of HAVEN dangled the “Who is Audrey Parker?” carrot in front of us and we, along with everyone else in Haven, chased after it. But Season 2 only brought more questions. We discovered that the helpful local good-boy Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour) was also more than he seemed, as he had inherited his family’s ability to cure the Troubled, but only by killing them – which freed their heirs from their family curse.
Season 2 also teased us with more clues as to Audrey’s true identity, but boggled our minds even further with the discovery that Audrey had lived in Haven twice before, 27 years before as a young woman known as Lucy, and 27 years before that as a woman known as Sarah – yet the Audrey we knew had not aged a day and had no memories of those past lifetimes, just a scar on the bottom of her foot matching one received by Lucy years before. Apparently no one in Haven is exempt from the Troubles and no one is exactly what they seem.
Thus, as the third season of HAVEN began, we were just dying to know: Who is Audrey Parker? Yet because one mystery is never enough, this season also brought the mystery of “Who is the Colorado Kid?” back to the foreground and linked it to the mystery of Audrey. First thing, Audrey was kidnapped by someone wanting information on The Colorado Kid; for The Colorado Kid had no died as originally thought that fateful day 27 years ago, as depicted in the famous newspaper clipping from the Haven Herald. After digging up The Colorado Kid’s grave and finding it empty, Audrey found a handwritten note from herself as Lucy warning her that she had to find The Colorado Kid before the Hunter. Then with Duke’s handy help, Audrey found out that The Hunter is a comet which comes around once every 27 years, which coincides with the day on which Audrey/Lucy/Sarah disappears, and that The Colorado Kid is actually her son.
As if that were all not enough to make one’s brain explode, there were two more key mysteries thrown into the mix: (1) who is the Bolt-Gun Killer (the creepy guy running around killing people in Haven for body parts and who is desperately seeking The Colorado Kid), and (2) who is The Colorado Kid’s father? Incredibly, the mystery of Audrey Parker has swept up viewers into a vortex of entangled mysteries.
So as we face the final two episodes of this momentous third season, there are still so many burning questions to be answered. Yet while mysteries are all well and good, and getting answers will be very soothing and satisfying, the one thing we have yet to really confront is: are we ready to say goodbye to Audrey Parker?
With HAVEN receiving its 4th season pick-up from Syfy, there is no danger that the show is not coming back and there will be a guaranteed 13 more episodes to explore the mystery of Audrey Parker and the rest of the unanswered questions next season. However, this season revealed that there is a clock on Audrey, and her time is running out — Audrey even in her past lives has never been given the luxury of time — she gets about 6 months every 27 years to come back and put things back together again in Haven, and what has felt like three years to the viewers has been only 6 months in Haven. Despite being distracted by the discovery of the Troubles and all the other mysteries, as well as the whirlwind romance of Audrey and Nathan thrown in the midst, things have come to a pivotal point and the clock has run out.
In searching for her true identity and her role in Haven’s Troubles, Audrey has discovered that in order to banish the Troubles from Haven, she must step into the mysterious disappearing barn and be transported (by portal, time suspension or some other time-travel device) to her next stop 27 years in the future. Yet like in her previous lives, Audrey has begun to put down roots in Haven, developing friendships and relationships that she wants to keep. She does not want to become a winkle in time in their lives; she wants to live out her life, enjoying it for the remainder of her days. So must Audrey really give it all up? Does she have to step into the barn and sacrifice herself for the greater good, or can she stay and live with the consequences of unleashing further Troubles on Haven? And will it create a time-paradox that rips at the fabric of time all around Haven if she does?
Knowing Audrey as we do, we can easily see her martyring herself and stepping into that barn. But are we ready for that moment? If the barn then disappears taking Audrey with it, will we be ready to say goodbye?
In last week’s episode entitled “Last Goodbyes,” we saw how Audrey convinced Will Brady that he had to sacrifice himself and go back into his coma in order to save his sister and everyone else’s lives in Haven. But Will was not being asked to kill himself, only to possibly be stuck in a coma for an undetermined amount of time, with the possibility that he may never come out of it. Yet he was willing to make that noble sacrifice to save everyone. It paralleled the same exact sacrifice that Audrey will be asked to make. She is not being asked to let herself die, but to give up living out her life with those she knows and loves. Time and time again, the Troubled have been asked to make extraordinary sacrifices for the greater good, and now it is Audrey’s turn. We do not doubt she will do the right thing. But our hearts will hurt no less knowing that she is doing the right thing.
For what would HAVEN be without Audrey Parker? Sure it would be fun to see Nathan and Duke forced to work out their differences, but we suspect they would be too broken-hearted to keep up their rivalries. It is entirely possible they would become the “Vince and Dave” of the next generation, awaiting Audrey’s return to steal a few precious months with her the next time she appeared – though she would not have aged a day and she would have no memory of them and how they felt about each other.
Season one ended on the cliffhanger of Audrey facing the real Audrey Parker. It was mind-boggling and teasing. Season 2 ended on the cliffhanger of Audrey’s abduction and Nathan and Duke facing off. It was heart-pounding and suspenseful. So where will Season 3 leave us? Will we be heart-broken having watched Audrey disappear and wondering how to get her back? Or will she stay and we will be left anxiously wondering what greater Trouble will arise if she does?
Knowing the writers of HAVEN as we do, it is more likely that we’ll be holding our breath wondering what happened to Audrey Parker and if she can found somewhere in time. With only two episodes left, “Reunion” and “Thanks for the Memories,” it is time to pull out the tissues and be ready. Savor every last second of this season, it will feel like a long wait until HAVEN Season 4 comes back around next Fall. Audrey Parker maybe the cure to the Troubles, but what is its trigger? The many mysteries of HAVEN continue to keep us entranced, but Audrey holds our heart. Let us hope this is not goodbye for good, and only goodbye for now; for we are not ready to say goodbye to Audrey Parker. 
HAVEN airs Fridays at 10PM on Syfy (9PM on Showcase in Canada)
Tiffany Vogt is the Senior West Coast Editor, contributing as a columnist and entertainment reporter to TheTVaddict.com. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower).